Residents of Lake Chapala’s north shore corridor are advised to exercise caution as property crimes have spiked in recent weeks, according to anecdotal reports.
Incidents include a series of home invasions by armed thieves and break-ins of at least three local gated residential compounds where foreigners were the victims. Two weeks ago, a pair of women were mugged on the streets of Ajijic while walking home in the dark after dining at a popular pasta bar.
On December 5, the clerk of a small Ajijic grocery shop was caught by surprise just after opening time when she was held up at gunpoint while a gang of one female and two male assailants posing as customers emptied the cash register.
Cash was also lifted from a popular downtown Chapala coffee shop during a pre-dawn break-in on Thursday, December 13. The bandit failed to gain back door access to two neighboring businesses.
Questioned by local media later that day, Chapala police chief Amador Bahena Pinzón acknowledged an increase in crime reports, singling out home burglaries as leading the statistics, with eight to 15 incidents registered each month since he took office on October 1.
Crime reports should be called in immediately to police headquarters at 765-4444 or to bilingual officers answering 332-161-5903 (cel), best kept on speed dial.